The cross located at the summit of the Aneto, the highest peak in the Pyrenees, has been placed back in position after being torn down and thrown down the mountain just days after its installation.
According to the French media outlet Tribune Chrétienne, several Spanish climbers decided to recover the cross and climb again to the 3,404 meters of the Aneto to reinstall it at the summit, in response to those who intended to make this Christian symbol disappear permanently.
The initiative of an 18-year-old French youth
The story began on May 8, when Maël Le Lagadec, an 18-year-old Frenchman, reached the summit of the Aneto carrying on his back a 35-kilogram wooden cross that he had made himself.
His intention was to replace the historic cross of the Aneto, which had recently been vandalized and thrown into the void. The gesture provoked a strong emotional reaction on both the Spanish and French sides of the Pyrenees, where many mountaineers consider the cross an inseparable part of the place’s history.
However, a few days later, the new cross was also torn down and thrown down the slope. Images of the act of vandalism quickly circulated on social media and caused outrage among numerous mountain enthusiasts.
A response to vandalism
Far from resigning themselves, several Spanish climbers organized to recover the cross from the snow and return it once again to the summit of the Aneto. For those who took part in the initiative, it is not only a religious symbol, but also an element of Pyrenean cultural and historical heritage.
In the Aragonese valleys, the presence of the cross on the Aneto has for decades been part of the collective memory of generations of mountaineers and local residents. Its disappearance had caused deep unease among many neighbors.
A symbol that transcends the religious
The succession of attacks and reinstallations has turned the Aneto cross into a symbol that already transcends the local sphere. For many inhabitants of the Pyrenees, both Spanish and French, the debate does not affect only a religious sign, but also the preservation of a cultural and historical heritage linked to the mountain.
While the investigation opened by the Civil Guard into the acts of vandalism against the old cross continues, the new structure is once again visible at the summit of the Aneto.
The gesture of those who decided to carry it back up to the roof of the Pyrenees seems to convey a clear message: they are not willing to allow vandalism to erase a symbol they consider part of the identity of the place.